Lady Cougars Fall 63-45 at No. 12 Bethel in MCC Action


	Lady Cougar Basketball Game Recap Lady Cougars Fall 63-45 at No. 12 Bethel in MCC Action written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore MISHAWAKA, Ind. (2-1-2012) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's basketball team dropped its seventh straight road game as the Lady Cougars shot just 27.1 percent from the field and committed 23 turnovers in a 63-45 loss at NAIA Division II No. 12 Bethel (Ind.) College on Wednesday night in Mid-Central College Conference action. The host Lady Pilots (19-5, 11-2 MCC) scored the first 11 points of the game and built a 16-2 lead by the 14:27 mark as MVNU went just 1-for-9 from the field and committed two turnovers. The Lady Cougars (11-12, 3-10 MCC) whittled the deficit down to 21-14 after junior guard Melissa Eickholt split a pair of free throws with 5:23 left in the half, but Bethel pushed its lead back up to 28-16 by the break. In the second half, MVNU was unable to get any closer than 30-20 just over a minute into the final period. Meanwhile, the Lady Pilots built as much as a 61-38 lead with 4:16 to go before settling for the 63-45 victory as they notched their fifth straight win. Senior guard Sierra Fletcher was the lone Lady Cougar to reach double figures with 12 points to go with five assists and six steals. Senior forward Alexis Harkins added eight points, while sophomore post Amy Daniels grabbed nine rebounds. MVNU shot 27.1 percent from the field (19-for-70), 11.1 percent from 3-point range (2-for-18), and a miserable 38.5 percent from the free throw line (5-for-13). Kristin Hicks and Laura Johnson paced Bethel with 14 and 12 points respectively. The Lady Pilots shot 33.9 percent from the field (21-for-62), 25 percent from 3-point range (7-for-28), and 70 percent from the free throw line (14-for-20). "We had three things that we needed to do going into tonight's game," said MVNU coach Jason Foster. "We needed to be physical on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, we needed to create good shot opportunities for each other, and we needed to play hard and aggressive for 40 minutes. We did No. 1 and No. 2 at times tonight - working hard, being physical, and creating for each other. The problem like in many of our recent road games is that we failed to do the No. 3 task, which was play hard and aggressive for 40 minutes. (Bethel) is a very aggressive team and they beat us to more loose balls than I can count. They came in and took the ball right out of our hands on a number of occasions. They pursued the ball and we did not. We did a better job contesting their 3-point shot only to give up offensive rebounds and multiple attempts. They took it to us and at a time in the season when aggressiveness needs to be high and the hustle plays mean more than ever and we were not getting them." "This has been a difficult run during the season and we are in the final days," Foster added. "We need to rise up to the challenge that this conference brings, which is that you must compete to the best of your ability every game, every minute, and every second. It is a lesson that once learned will never be forgotten." The Lady Cougars will return to action on Saturday at 1 p.m. when MVNU will return home to host NAIA Division II No. 21 Huntington (Ind.) University in another MCC contest.

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